Single mom with multiple sclerosis takes shot at becoming world taekwondo champ

Alyssa Fencil of Stevens Point, Wis. trains at the Five Rings Martial Arts studio in Stevens Point on September 19, 2017. Fencil has multiple sclerosis and has qualified for the Para Taekwondo World Championships in London this month.
Alexandra Wimley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

STEVENS POINT - The news came to Alyssa Fencil by accident in 2008. She had no idea anything was wrong. There were no signs. No obvious symptoms.

A pair of automobile accidents three months apart left Fencil with neck and upper back injuries. Doctors conducted a battery of medical tests. MRIs were performed.

And after the second accident, doctors informed Fencil she had multiple sclerosis. The news hit her as hard as any taekwondo kick she ever received.

"It was a little bit of a hard pill to swallow because I seemed fine," the 35-year-old Fencil said. "For many years, because I was asymptomatic, I just pretended like it wasn't there."

Instead, she moved on with her life and taekwondo career. She lost more than 100 pounds in the gym, transforming her lifestyle in the process.

Nine years later, the Wisconsin Rapids native is a member of the U.S. Para Taekwondo National Team. Fencil is scheduled to own the title of U.S. Olympian when the sport is part of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

She will compete for the Para Taekwondo World Championship title in London this month.

Who would have ever believed that was possible?

"It reminds me of one my favorite quotes. 'The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it," said Fencil, referring to words from evangelist Charles R. Swindoll.

"It's really true. It's how you react to it. How you handle it and what you decide to make of it."

Shocked by MS diagnosis

Fencil was waiting to hear about any structural neck and back injuries she suffered after being rear-ended twice just three months apart.

A radiologist discovered she had more than just physical damage. He suspected she had multiple sclerosis and further testing confirmed his suspicions. Multiple sclerosis, often called MS, is a disease of the central nervous system that can interfere with the connections the brain makes with the body. Severe cases can be debilitating.

For Fencil, her invisible MS had meant occasional balance and coordination issues and bad headaches. But still she was left bewildered by the life-altering news.

"I was having a very hard time dealing with (the news) at first," Fencil said. "I had no idea."

Fencil kept the news to herself for many years. Family and close friends remained unaware she had MS.

Her taekwondo coach also had no idea his student was dealing with the disease.

"She didn't want any special treatment," said Steve Decker, her coach and owner of Five Rings Martial Arts studio. "She wanted to be treated as an equal and as a normal student, which is completely understandable."

The disease manifests itself is a variety of ways.

When she gets overheated, her reaction time and reflexes noticeably slow down. Fencil also finds her balance and lower-body strength are affected.

With some of the physical manifestations of MS comes frustration.Still, she considers herself lucky.

"There are so many different ways (MS) can progress," Fencil said. "When you have it, you never know when it's going to hit you. You can switch between classes of MS. They don't quite know why or how."

She lost 100 pounds in martial arts training

Fencil in 2008 was wondering whether she would be able to lead a "normal" life.

The car accidents required months of physical therapy. Then came the frightening multiple sclerosis diagnosis. And she was obese. At 5-foot-9, she weighed close to 300 pounds.

A desire to lead a more healthy lifestyle in order to help keep up with her kids — Aiden, who will turn 6 in a couple weeks, and Annika, 4 — prompted her to look into taekwondo again.

She called Wausau home at the time, and Fencil signed up for taekwondo classes at the Halamas Martial Arts studio.The automobile accidents put those activities on hold.

Residing in Stevens Point and recovered from her injuries, she joined Five Rings Martial Arts studio on Main Street in 2015.

The physical and psychological changes were wildly profound and almost immediate. She shed 100 pounds in the first 10 months in taekwondo.

Taekwondo offered the Wisconsin Rapids native a respite in life.

"Physically, it's had some big changes for me," Fencil said. "Not only did I have the social aspect of this sport that I enjoy, but I also had some significant benefits with my health."

A yellow belt when she arrived at Five Rings, she tested and earned her black on Sept. 10.

Quite a resume for someone who took up taekwondo to improve her health.

"I didn't expect at 35 to be doing all of this, so I'll take it and run," Fencil said.

Training to be a champion

Decker stands braced on his back leg in front of her. Hands covered in heavily padded red and blue mitts.

Fencil lifts her leg over her head as she performs a roundhouse kick. Axe kicks and side kicks soon follow. Her foot lands squarely on his mitt. The thud echoes throughout the studio.

"She has innate physical attributes that lend themselves well to taekwondo," Decker said."She's quite tall and strong. She can really reach out and touch people (to score points)."

Taekwondo and Fencil have been a natural fit.

Her long legs and an intense desire to improve have taken her places in the sport she never imagined. And more international destinations to come.

On a lark, Fencil opted to compete at the 2016 state taekwondo competition. She won a state championship in the heavyweight division and qualified for nationals. She competed in nationals in Richmond, Virginia in 2016. She did well there, and promptly set her sights on international competition.

"If you're going to compete on the international level, I've got to take it seriously," said Fencil, who works full-time as a registered nurse in cardiac care for Marshfield Clinic. "I'm going to do it right.

"I train as hard as I can, but I have to balance being a single mom and make sure I can function at work. Take care of my house. It's a big balancing act."

Going public with her diagnosis

It was at nationals in Richmond that she became aware of the para taekwondo team. She was still at that time the only one with knowledge of her MS diagnosis.

When she approached Decker with the idea, he was flabbergasted.

"I laughed because I thought ... 'You're not going to qualify,'" said Decker, who is a U.S. Taekwondo National Team coach. But the U.S. National committee ruled Fencil did, and does, qualify for the team.

Her status in para taekwondo made her a national team member. She is currently ranked No. 5 in the world in the only division in para taekwondo. There are 13 competitors worldwide and Fencil is the lone U.S. athlete.

Her talent and ability is undeniable. In her first international competition this past February in Las Vegas, Fencil knocked off the No. 2-ranked woman by a convincing 8-1 score.

"Nobody was ready for her. She came into the event as a nobody and left as a gold medalist," Decker said. "People took notice."

Fencil wants more. She will compete at the Para Taekwondo World Championships in London from Oct. 9 through Oct. 16.

In addition, her para taekwondo division has been selected to be part of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Fencil is still attempting to come to grips with where the sport has taken her.

"It's an amazing journey," she said. "Nothing is guaranteed tomorrow, so you have to enjoy the moment now. That's what I'm going to do with this.

"I'm taking the opportunity and running with it. How many people get the opportunity to do something like this? I'm going to do what I can as long as I'm able to do it."